nationsfandomcom-20200214-history
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a de facto part of West Germany. Despite its status as part of an occupied city, East Berlin was claimed as the capital of East Germany. From 13 August 1961 until 9 November 1989 East Berlin was separated from West Berlin by the Berlin Wall. The East German government referred to East Berlin simply as "Berlin" or often "Berlin, Hauptstadt der DDR" (Berlin, capital of the GDR). The term "Democratic Sector" was also used until the 1960s. (See also Naming conventions) The Western Allies (the USA, Britain and France) never formally acknowledged the authority of the East German government to govern East Berlin; the official Allied protocol recognized only the authority of the Soviet Union in East Berlin in accordance with the occupation status of Berlin as a whole. The United States Command Berlin, for example, published detailed instructions for U.S. military and civilian personnel wishing to visit East Berlin. In fact, the three Western commandants regularly protested the presence of the East German National People's Army (NVA) in East Berlin, particularly on the occasion of military parades. Nevertheless, the three Western Allies eventually established embassies in East Berlin in the 1970s, although they never recognized it as the capital of East Germany. Treaties instead used terms such as "seat of government." On 3 October 1990, West and East Germany were reunited, thus formally ending the existence of East Berlin. East Berlin today Since reunification, the German government has spent vast amounts of money on reintegrating the two halves of the city and bringing services and infrastructure in the former East Berlin up to the standard established in West Berlin. Despite this, there are still obvious differences between eastern and western Berlin. Eastern Berlin has a distinctly different visual aspect, partly because of the greater survival of prewar façades and streetscapes, some still showing signs of wartime damage, and partly because of the distinctive style of urban Stalinist architecture used in the GDR. As in other former East German cities, a small number of GDR-era names commemorating socialist heroes have been preserved, such as Karl-Marx-Allee, Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz and Karl-Liebknecht-Straße; this followed a long process of review in which many such street names were deemed inappropriate and were changed. Still visible throughout former East Berlin are the characteristic "Ampelmännchen" on some pedestrian traffic lights. These days they are also visible in parts of the former West Berlin following a civic debate about whether the "Ampelmännchen" should be abolished or disseminated more widely. Soviet and East German Commandants of East Berlin in East Berlin in the summer of 1989. The Fernsehturm (TV Tower) is visible in the background]] Boroughs of East Berlin At the time of German reunification, East Berlin comprised the boroughs of * Friedrichshain * Hellersdorf (since 1986) * Hohenschönhausen (since 1985) * Köpenick * Lichtenberg * Marzahn (since 1979) * Mitte * Pankow * Prenzlauer Berg * Treptow * Weißensee Images of East Berlin Image:Karl-Marx-Allee Block C Nord Berlin April 2006 060.jpg|Karl Marx Allee apartments Image:PICT4247.JPG|Wall plaque of Lenin, off Wilhelmstraße Image:PICT4261.JPG|GDR-era mural of Meissen porcelain on former Council of Ministers building, facing Leipziger Straße Image:PICT4566.JPG|The Soviet War Memorial in Treptower Park Image:Cafe Moskau.JPG|Cafe Moskau in Karl Marx Allee Image:PICT4057.JPG|The Palace of the Republic, being dismantled Image:PICT4556.JPG|New Synagogue, Oranienburger Straße Image:Weberwiese Berlin April 2006 147.jpg|"Hochhaus" in Weberwiese- the first high rise apartment that was built after the war Image:VolksbühBerlJan08.JPG|People's Theatre, Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz Image:Berlin_Wilhelmstrasse.jpg|Late-1980s GDR apartment blocks on the Wilhelmstraße Image:Strausberger Platz Berlin April 2006 117.jpg|Strausberger Platz with constructivism style building Image:PICT4039.JPG|Proletarian hero, Alexanderplatz Image:PICT4313.JPG|Statues of Marx and Engels, Marx-Engels-Forum See also * History of Berlin * Berlin Wall * Bonn * Cold War * Checkpoint Charlie * East Germany * Ghost station * History of Germany since 1945 * West Berlin References External links *Berlin Photos 1989-1999 *East Berlin Past and Present *Pictures of the GDR and East Berlin 1949-1973 *Old East Berlin Fades Away Amid Renovations *The Lives of Others official website Category:Former polities 1945-1991 Category:History of Berlin Berlin, East Berlin, East Category:East Germany Category:States and territories established in 1949 af:Oos-Berlyn als:Ostberlin bg:Източен Берлин ca:Berlín Est cs:Východní Berlín da:Østberlin de:Ost-Berlin et:Ida-Berliin es:Berlín Este eo:Orienta Berlino eu:Ekialdeko Berlin fa:برلین شرقی fr:Berlin-Est ko:동베를린 hr:Istočni Berlin id:Berlin Timur it:Berlino Est he:ברלין המזרחית jv:Berlin Wétan hu:Kelet-Berlin nl:Oost-Berlijn ja:東ベルリン no:Øst-Berlin pl:Berlin Wschodni pt:Berlim Leste ro:Berlinul de Est ru:Восточный Берлин simple:East Berlin sk:Východný Berlín sr:Источни Берлин sh:Istočni Berlin fi:Itä-Berliini sv:Östberlin th:เบอร์ลินตะวันออก vi:Đông Berlin zh:东柏林